Do these horses speak English???

I couldn't really start this blog with words.  How do you describe something this beautiful? 

Where was I you ask? Matalascañas! A small, gorgeous town on the Southwestern coast of Spain.  The town is part of a huge nature reserve called Doñana.  Basically one of the most beuatiful places I've ever been...no big deal.  

My alarm clock screeched at about 6:15 Saturday morning; yes, 6:15 in the morning.  When we left to walk to the bus station it was still dark. On our way we saw people walking home from the night before!!! Gotta love that Spanish night culture. 

When we arrived to our bus stop, we were a little worried because the bus was not there.  We waited nervously for about 10 minutes before we couldn't handle the stress anymore and we asked another person standing by.  Luckily, they were waiting for the same bus.  Phew! We were in the right place!  We got on the bus without any problems and I slept like a baby for the entire two hour bus ride. (I told you I can sleep on anything that moves). 

10 am rolls around and Sophie wakes me up. We're here! As we step off the bus we all immediately feel the shock of the cold morning!!! Ahhh! Quick somewhere warm.  We head into the first cafe shop we see and it's perfect.  It was the definition of a cute, charming, Spanish cafe. 

 The sweet older man behind the counter was charming and adorable as well.   We ordered some hot drinks and huddled around the old fashion fire.

 Just like this!

After spending a little time in this cafe we set out to find  the stables! 

We walked about a block and a half and we came to an entrance of what seems like a nature preserve.  We followed the dirt path and it led us directly to our destination.  The guys asked us if we made a reservation for four.  Yep, that was us.  (This is an important part of the story.) 

As we waited we met the most docile dog in the world.  He was such a sweet heart. 

The time had arrived!  Horseback riding along the beach in Spain. The guide took us through beautiful trees and everywhere I looked there was a stretch of gorgeous green.  Suddenly we began to walk uphill and as we reached the top I was literally speechless (which doesn't happen often).  I could do nothing but gawk in complete awe of God's masterpiece in front of me.  

That's not even the best part... we walked through a sort of cave-like structure and the Atlantic ocean sparkled in front of me!  The sand was almost white.  In order to get to the ocean we had to go through a little tide pool... yes, with our horses!  They splashed through the water like young children. :) 

Then... I can't even explain what happened.  My horse knew it was time to run and we were off! At first I bounced awkwardly, until I let my body relax and I began to feel the rhythm of the horse.  As cheesy as it sounds, I felt like we were one in the same and as if I was flying.  The wind thrashing against my face, the sound of the waves beside me, and the sight of a gorgeous beach were unbelievable.  The adrenaline was pumping vivaciously through me.  It was incredible.  So incredible that it almost feels like it wasn't real, just a great dream.  But it really happened! I have the pictures to prove it!!! 

On our way back to the stables, my horse chose to take an alternate route.  No matter what I did, I could not get him to follow the group.  He was stubborn with a mind of his own.  At one point he stood tall, stared at the group walking and blatantly turned in the other direction and we trotted off.  I couldn't help but laugh though, at least he knew what he wanted, right? 

When we finally made it back to the stables, we felt awkwardly sore from being on a horse for two hours.  As we finished taking our pictures, the boss approached me.  Apparently we had gone to the wrong stable, we made a reservation and paid online at a neighboring stable.  But since we had given his employee our receipt the boss said it wasn't our fault.  Remember when I said the guys asked us if we made a reservation for four girls? Apparently he didn't look at our receipt well enough.  So even though his stable charges 26€ for 2 hours, we paid 20€.  I offered to pay him the difference, but he refused; he said it was their fault.  It's not everyday that you run into great customer service like that! His kindness stood out to me as well and contributed to making the whole day an overall AMAZING experience.